Strings



1. BOOSH AND w. KOWALUK.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 26, I92).

L %.h n w. dc w w 3 M m m F P a H I 2 5 F 6 8. O n 1 amnion? J: B OOJ/I/ "7/15 wall/ti J. BOOSH AND W. KDWALUK.

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 28 19 2l.

Patented Dec. 27, 1921.

2 S HEETSSHEET 2.

FIG. 10!

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN BOOSH AND WASYL KOWALUK', OF- CLEVELAND, OHIO;

STRINGED MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

' Application filed July as,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, JOHN BOOSH and WASYL KOWALUK citizens ofPoland, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and Stateof Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Strin ed Musical Instruments, of which the following isa specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in stringed musical in struments of that type adapted to be played b the manual manipulation of individual p cks constantly operatively associated with each strings I .-fl he 'p r imary object of the presentinventio'n is to provide a stringed musical instrument of generally simplified and im proved'form and construction.

A'notherobjeet of theinvention is to provide a novel fo'rm of lstringed musical instifiirnentjwhe'r'ein provision lsniade for they arrangement of the strings so that the same are entirely ,incased and thereby protected from damage, with provision .for permitting the'ready'and proper escape of sound Waves.

Stillanother object of the invention is to provide a novel arrangementof picks for the operation of the several strings of the rinstgumentwand improved means for convenientlyoperating said picks.

With, the above general. objects in view and others ,that will become apparent as the nature of the invention better understood,

, the invention, consistsinflthe novel. form,

combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter mor fully describedin connection with the accompanyin drawings, in which like characters of reierence indicate correspondin parts throughout the views.

In the rawings, Y

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a stringed musical instrument constructed in accordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof,

Fig. 3 is a substantially central vertical sectional view of the same.

Fig.4 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon line IVIV of Fig. 3 and with the ick carrying unit removed,

Fig. 5 is a f iaginentary bottom plan view of the device shown in Fig. l with the bottom cover plate removed,

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary clevational view showing the mounting frame fora/ntl some of the pirlrs 11ml actuating members thereof.

Specification of Letters Patent; Patented Dec, 2'1, 1921.

Fig. -7 is a horizontal sectional view taken substantially upon line VII-VII of Fig. 6, F 1g. 8 is a fragmentary elevational view showing a portion of one of theYpick actuating members and the adjacent pick and string,

2 Fig. 9 is a side elevational view of the deland 3, the walls 5' and 6 being preferably.

provided with walined openings which are connected byjr'adialsound conducting tubes 7 cbinmu'nicating from the. interior of the case to th atmosphere near the top of the case, While other openings may beprovided as Q'atLS' in one or both ofthe Will'lSfOl ad ditionallexit of the sound' wavescif found desirable? I The case is pro'vided with an annular flanged string attaching-plate 9 at its hottox n" portion of angular form. in cross section.

so th'at'one' flange o'fsaid; plate .9cflatly engag'e s the 'Outersnrface of 'the bo ttbm. wall wot the, case as "shown clearly in ,i I .5.13 which, position it is, rigidly gleaned by means of screws 11 or the hkso that th otherfiange of said plate 9 extends inwardly oi the passageth'rough said case. inwar'dly extending flange'of the plate Bis provided with aregular, series of openings in which the hooked lower ends of string carryingrods 12 are en aged, said rods 12 being extended longitudinally inthe passage of the. case toward, the up r end of the latter and being vof-f r radually i'ncreas'ing' lengths as shownin Fi 3. A spiralseries of stringed bridge memiers i3 is provided upon the inner surface of the inner wall 5 so as to provide recesses re the adjacent ends of the strings 14 whose lower ends are suitably attached to the upper ends of the rods 12- as by passing th same through eyes l5 provided at the upper ends of the rods and then twisting said strings as shown. A suitable bottom cover 16 is nailed, glued or otherwise suitably fastened upon the bottom of the case to (over the flange plate 9 and the lower end of the case.

A plurality of string tightening screws are threaded in the upper end of the case and arranged in a circular series as at 17 in a position to have the upper ends of the strings 14 attached thereto so that by turning of said screws, tightening of the strings will be had for proper tuning of the instrument, and-'these'screws are preferably pro vided with exposed squared outer ends for the reception of a key as at 18 as is usual in stringed musical instruments of this eneral character. The strings 14 and their attaching rods 12 are thus arranged in a circle and in close proximity to the inner surface of the inner wall 5 of the case, and for the convenient manual actuation ofthestrings, a picking mechanism or unit including indi vidual picks constantly associated with each of the strings and finger operated actuating means for said picks, is secured in the upper end of the case. This mechanism or unit comprises three disks or circular plates 19, 20, and 21 rigidly connected in parallel spaced relation by means of a plurality of posts 22, the' plates 19 and 20 being of such diameter as to: be received within'the passage of the case inwardly of the strings 14' and the plate 21 being of such size as to cover or close the open upper end of the case and to rest upon said'end so that the same may be secured byt-means of screws 23 or the like rigidly in position as shown in Figs, 2 'and 3, suitable ooves being provided to permit the pas'sa e of the strings between the'case and the pfiite 21 to the screws 17. Any suitable form of guide may be provided as at 24 at the upper end ofthewall 5' for each of'the strings so as to hold the latter in spaced relation throughout from the innersurface ofthe'inner wan 5- in conjunction with the bridge ie'cesi13 The innermost plate 19 has a p iirality o'f .radiallyflprojecting stub shafts '25, extending toward one of the strings '14 and having a rotarypiclr 26 revo lubly mounted thereon. Each ick 2-6 is inthe form of a disk with latera ly extending coin-shaped prongs 27 upon'the outer face'thereof arranged in the path of the adjacent string so that as the pick is rotated a partial revolution, one of these cam teeth will ride under and thereby sound said string. A push button 28 is slidably mounted transversely through the outer plate 21 directly above each pick 26 and is provided with an inwardly extending push rod 29 formed with a pawl 30 at its lower end which terminates in close proximity to the adjacent pick for engagement with successive teeth 31 provided upon the rear face of said pick, one tooth 31 being provided opposite each cam with 37, and the push button 28 and rod tiff! lrlllg normally ele ated by means "w which i; pyctcizilily of wheei Md aste e a5 at33t the uppersurface 0t the disk 20'and its upper end engaging the push button 28 in such way as to urge the same upwardly. The rods 29 are each disposed above one of the rota picks 26 and slightly to one side of the vertical center of said pick so that upon downward movement of each rod, the adjacent pick will be rotated a quarter revolution for producing a single operation of the associated string and so as to bring another tooth 31 in position to engaged by its pawl 30 when again operated as well as to bring another cam tooth 27 in position to move past the adjacent string when said pick is againi'so operated. The disk 20 is preferablyfprovided with transverse grooves in its edge for slidable reception of the rods 29, and a band or ring 34 is secured about the edge lofs 'aid disk 20 so as to confine saidrods'29 insaid grooves and thereby maintain the rods 29 with their lower endsin proper relation to the teeth 31 of the picks 26. I n operation,'tl'ie various strings are properly tuned in the usual way byjs'oundin'g the same as the screws 17 are adjusted. As the various strings are tuned toconfdfni thedifl'erent notes of the octave oifseyeral octaves, a desired tune may be :plaf yed'byf the proper successive a'ctuation of the one-or more of said strings by the depre$ionof the pressed will be immediately reinstate m'al position when released andach will when riiovingmwa'r ypgr tiully rotate its pick 26 o experience and'ski Also, the

is preferably constructed (if such size as to. rest upon'the floor with'th'e buttons within convenient reach or apersori'seated arljacentthe same." V i From the foregoing description it is believed that the construction operation as well as the advantages of the present invention will be readily understood gindappreciated by those skilled in the art. Minor changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the lnyention as claimed Vihat is claimed as'new is:

it A stringed musical instrument ,including a substantially cylindrical hollow'ca'se having a circular series of longitudinally extending strings mounted therein adjacent the inner surface of the same, and manually operable nmans within one end of said case including finger operated members arranged in (l "ll'i'jllllll iviic; inwardly of illlll Sll'lllgS For sounding the latter:

2. A stringed musical instrument including a substantially cylindrical hollow case having a circular series of longitudinally extending strings mounted therein adjacent the inner surface of the same, and manually operable means within one end of said case including finger operated members arranged in a circular series inwardly of said strings for sounding the latter, said last named means comprising a plurality of revoluble pick elements each arranged adjacent one of said strings and operatively connected to the finger actuated members.

3. A stringed musical instrument including a substantially cylindrical hollow case havin a circular series of longitudinally exten ing strings mounted therein adjacent the inner surface of the same, and manually operable means within one end of said case including finger operated members arranged in a circular series inwardly of said strings for sounding the latter, said last named means comprising a plurality of revoluble pick elements each arranged adjacent one of said strings and operatively connected to the fin er actuated members, said pick elements eac h comprising a disk with a series of laterally extending string engaging cam teeth and laterally extending actuating teeth, and said finger actuated members having pawls disposed to engage the last named teeth of the adjacent pick element so as to impart a partial rotation to said pick element upon each inward movement of the finger operated member.

4. In a stringed musical instrument wherein a plurality of strings are provided in a circular series and in parallel relation, means for the actuation of said strings comprising a pick carrying unit embodying a frame with a plurality of radiall extending stub shafts, picks of disk form ournaled upon said shafts and having outwardly directed cam teeth in position to engage said strings, a plurality of inwardly projecting operating teeth carried by said picks, a plurality of finger operated longitudinally slidable pawl carrying elements disposed in said frame for movement in a direction at right angles to the axes of said picks, said pawls being disposed to successively engage the operating teeth for imparting a partial revolution to the picks upon each inward movement of the operating members, and means to yieldingly return said operating members to an inoperative position upon beifig released after each actuation of the pic s.

5. A stringed musical instrument including a substantially cylindrical hollow case having a circular series of longitudinally extending strings mounted therein adjacent the inner surface of the same and manually operable means within one end of said case including finger operated members arranged in a circular series inwardly of said strings for sounding the latter, said last named means comprising a plurality of revoluble pick elements each arranged adjacent one of said strings and operatively connected to the finger actuated members, said case being of double walled construction with sound conducting means extending through said walls.

6. In a stringed musical instrument, a case comprising a pair of walls concentrically arranged in spaced relation, the inner walls being of cylindrical form, a plurality of rods within said case inwardly of said inner wall and extending longitudinally of the case partially throu h the same, a flanged disk secured to the l ottom of the case and having the lower ends of said rods anchored thereto, the upper ends of the rods terminating at various distances from the upper end of the case, a spiral series of bridges fixed upon the inner surface of said inner wall above the upper ends of said rods, strings extending longitudinally of the case over said bridges and attached to the upper ends of said rods, means at the upper end of the case for tightening said strings to tune the same and means within the upper end of the case and including finger actuated push buttons for the manual sounding of said strings.

In testimony whereof we afiix our signatures.

JOHN BOOSH. WASYL KOWALUK. 

